1 T here was no king in Israel in those days. And there was a certain Levite staying in a far away part of the hill country of Ephraim. He took a woman from Bethlehem in Judah to act as his wife.

Naquela época não havia rei em Israel. Aconteceu que um levita que vivia nos montes de Efraim, numa região afastada, tomou para si uma concubina, que era de Belém de Judá.

2 B ut his woman was not faithful to him. She left him and went to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. She stayed there four months.

Mas ela lhe foi infiel. Deixou-o e voltou para a casa do seu pai, em Belém de Judá. Quatro meses depois,

3 T hen her husband got up and went after her. He was gentle in speaking to her, asking her to return with him. He brought his servant and two donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house. When her father saw him, he was glad to meet him.

seu marido foi convencê-la a voltar. Ele tinha levado o seu servo e dois jumentos. A mulher o levou para dentro da casa do seu pai, e quando seu pai o viu, alegrou-se.

4 H is father-in-law, the girl’s father, made him stay. So he stayed with him three days. They ate and drank and stayed there.

O sogro dele o convenceu a ficar ali; e ele permaneceu com eles três dias; todos comendo, bebendo e dormindo ali.

5 T hey got up early in the morning on the fourth day to get ready to go. The girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Eat a piece of bread to get your strength. Then you may go.”

No quarto dia, eles se levantaram cedo, e o levita se preparou para partir, mas o pai da moça disse ao genro: “Coma alguma coisa, e depois vocês poderão partir”.

6 S o both of them sat down and ate and drank together. The girl’s father said to the man, “I beg you, agree to stay the night. Let your heart be happy.”

Os dois se assentaram para comer e beber juntos. Mas o pai da moça disse: “Eu lhe peço que fique esta noite, e que se alegre”.

7 T he man stood up to go. But his father-in-law begged him so that he stayed another night there.

E, quando o homem se levantou para partir, seu sogro o convenceu a ficar ainda aquela noite.

8 H e got up to go early in the morning on the fifth day. But the girl’s father said, “I beg you, get your strength first. Wait until later in the day.” So both of them ate.

Na manhã do quinto dia, quando ele se preparou para partir, o pai da moça disse: “Vamos comer! Espere até a tarde!” E os dois comeram juntos.

9 T hen the man stood up to leave with his woman and his servant. His father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Now see, the day is ending. I beg you, stay the night. See, the day is coming to an end. Stay here through the night so your heart may be happy. Get up early tomorrow to go on your way home.”

Então, quando o homem, sua concubina e seu servo levantaram-se para partir, o pai da moça, disse outra vez: “Veja, o dia está quase acabando, é quase noite; passe a noite aqui. Fique e alegre-se. Amanhã de madrugada vocês poderão levantar-se e ir para casa”.

10 B ut the man would not stay the night. He stood up and left and came to a place beside Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had his woman with him and two donkeys to carry them both.

Não desejando ficar outra noite, o homem partiu rumo a Jebus, isto é, Jerusalém, com dois jumentos selados e com a sua concubina.

11 T he day was almost gone when they were near Jebus. The servant said to his owner, “Come, let us go in and stay the night in this city of the Jebusites.”

Quando estavam perto de Jebus e já se findava o dia, o servo disse a seu senhor: “Venha. Vamos parar nesta cidade dos jebuseus e passar a noite aqui”.

12 B ut his owner said to him, “We will not go into the city of strangers who are not of the people of Israel. We will go as far as Gibeah.”

O seu senhor respondeu: “Não. Não vamos entrar numa cidade estrangeira, cujo povo não é israelita. Iremos para Gibeá”.

13 A nd he said to his servant, “Come, let us go to one of these places. We will stay the night in Gibeah or Ramah.”

E acrescentou: “Ande! Vamos tentar chegar a Gibeá ou a Ramá e passar a noite num desses lugares”.

14 S o they passed Jebus and went on their way. The sun went down when they were near Gibeah, a city of Benjamin.

Então prosseguiram, e o sol se pôs quando se aproximavam de Gibeá de Benjamim.

15 T hey turned to go in and stay at Gibeah. They went in and sat down outside in the center of the city. For no one took them into his house to stay the night.

Ali entraram para passar a noite. Foram sentar-se na praça da cidade. E ninguém os convidou para passarem a noite em sua casa.

16 I n the evening an old man came out of the field from his work. He was from the hill country of Ephraim and was staying in Gibeah. But the men of the place were Benjamites.

Naquela noite um homem idoso procedente dos montes de Efraim e que estava morando em Gibeá (os homens do lugar eram benjamitas), voltava de seu trabalho no campo.

17 T he old man looked up and saw the traveler in the center of the city, and said, “Where are you going? Where do you come from?”

Quando viu o viajante na praça da cidade, o homem idoso perguntou: “Para onde você está indo? De onde vem?”

18 T he Levite said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to a far away part of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, but am now returning home. But no one will take me into his house.

Ele respondeu: “Estamos de viagem, indo de Belém de Judá para uma região afastada, nos montes de Efraim, onde moro. Fui a Belém de Judá, e agora estou indo ao santuário do Senhor. Mas aqui ninguém me recebeu em casa.

19 W e have food for our donkeys. And we have bread and wine for me, my woman, and the young man who is with your servants. We have all we need.”

Temos palha e forragem para os nossos jumentos, e para nós mesmos, que somos seus servos, temos pão e vinho, para mim, para a sua serva e para o jovem que está conosco. Não temos falta de nada”.

20 T he old man said, “Peace to you. Let me take care of all your needs. But do not stay the night in the street.”

“Você é bem-vindo em minha casa”, disse o homem idoso. “Vou atendê-lo no que você precisar. Não passe a noite na praça.”

21 S o he took him into his house and gave food to the donkeys. The people washed their feet and ate and drank.

E os levou para a sua casa e alimentou os jumentos. Depois de lavarem os pés, comeram e beberam alguma coisa.

22 W hile they were having a happy time, certain sinful men of the city gathered around the house. They beat on the door and said to the old man, the owner of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house so we can have sex with him.”

Quando estavam entretidos, alguns vadios da cidade cercaram a casa. Esmurrando a porta, gritaram para o homem idoso, dono da casa: “Traga para fora o homem que entrou em sua casa para que tenhamos relações com ele!”

23 T he man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said, “No, my brothers. I beg you not to be so sinful. This man has come into my house. Do not do this sinful thing.

O dono da casa saiu e lhes disse: “Não sejam tão perversos, meus amigos. Já que esse homem é meu hóspede, não cometam essa loucura.

24 H ere is my daughter who has never had a man. And here is the woman who belongs to the man. Let me bring them out. Put them to shame. Do to them whatever you wish. But do not do such a sinful act against this man.”

Vejam, aqui está minha filha virgem e a concubina do meu hóspede. Eu as trarei para vocês, e vocês poderão usá-las e fazer com elas o que quiserem. Mas, nada façam com esse homem, não cometam tal loucura!”

25 B ut the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took hold of his woman and brought her out to them. The men had sex with her all night until morning. When the sun came up, they let her go.

Mas os homens não quiseram ouvi-lo. Então o levita mandou a sua concubina para fora, e eles a violentaram e abusaram dela a noite toda. Ao alvorecer a deixaram.

26 T he woman came early in the morning and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her owner was. She lay there until it was light.

Ao romper do dia a mulher voltou para a casa onde o seu senhor estava hospedado, caiu junto à porta e ali ficou até o dia clarear.

27 H er owner got up in the morning and opened the doors of the house. He went out to go on his way and saw his woman lying at the door of the house. Her hands were on the step.

Quando o seu senhor se levantou de manhã, abriu a porta da casa e saiu para prosseguir viagem, lá estava a sua concubina, caída à entrada da casa, com as mãos na soleira da porta.

28 H e said to her, “Get up. Let us be going.” But there was no answer. He put her body across the donkey and started on his way home.

Ele lhe disse: “Levante-se, vamos!” Não houve resposta. Então o homem a pôs em seu jumento e foi para casa.

29 W hen he went into his house, he took a knife. He took hold of his woman and cut her into twelve pieces, arm by arm, leg by leg. Then he sent her out through all the land of Israel.

Quando chegou, apanhou uma faca e cortou o corpo da sua concubina em doze partes, e as enviou a todas as regiões de Israel.

30 A ll who saw it said, “Nothing like this has happened before. Nothing like this has been seen from the day when the people of Israel came from the land of Egypt until now. Think about it. Listen to what is said about it. And say what you think.”

Todos os que viram isso disseram: “Nunca se viu nem se fez uma coisa dessas desde o dia em que os israelitas saíram do Egito. Pensem! Reflitam! Digam o que se deve fazer!”